Government to launch 2nd Edition of Presidential Digital Talent Programme

The government of Kenya is set to launch the 2nd edition of the Presidential Digital Talent Programme.

Launched in partnership with the private sector in 2014, the program seeks to transform the manner in which ICT is utilized for efficient and effective service delivery and is headed by the Ministry of Information Communications and Technology and spearheaded through the Ministry of Information Communications and Technology (MoICT) and the ICT Authority (ICTA).

The Presidential Digital Talent Programme is in line with the country’s Vision 2030, the Jubilee Manifesto and the ICT Master Plan developed by the ICT Authority. The internship programme will offer participants an opportunity to understand government services, and provide them with a chance to contribute towards improving service delivery to Kenyan citizens. It is a transformative initiative that should see ICT managed as a business in government.

The program targets fresh university graduates from both private and public institutions offering them an opportunity for a full year of on-the-job training in the private sector and public service. Some of the private sector organizations involved include Oracle, Seven Seas Technologies, Microsoft and Huawei.

The first batch of interns is set to graduate in December 2015 before being deployed to the various government departments as employees with others opting for the private sector. The government is now planning to launch a call up for the second edition.

The plan is to have it last for the next five years with a review of the set to take place after three years. The pilot begun in December 2014, with a call up to interested graduates to submit their applications in December 2014. After training sessions by both the government and private sector, the 200 successful candidates were deployed to various ministries and government departments as interns for a period of 12 months.

The second edition of the programme targets 400 graduates with keen emphasis on catering for the county governments. The project received funding to the tune of KSh 250 million in this year’s budget with the government seeing it as a key success in implementing the ICT Master plan, a deliverable for the Jubilee government and the Vision 2030 Social and Economic strategic pillars.